Tears to Roses
by Emagen Laile
Summary: Merry is angry. Very angry. And nothing that John says can make her feel any better. Okay, maybe a castle... S/OC


**Tears to Roses**

Merry sat at her desk, staring at her screen. It was blank.

_How could he have done this to her?_

Her fingers tapped against the keys impatiently, not pressing hard enough to actually write anything, but enough to make it sound like she was working. She didn't want to be interrupted; she was afraid that if anyone actually came into her office, she might just bite their head off.

John Sheppard was an idiot. And what was worse, infinitely worse- he knew it.

He had stood at her door- her _office_ door- and told her, without any sign of remorse, that he was going back to Earth for a week, and could she just give him a kiss? He had to leave immediately, and he knew he should have told her sooner, but as he was going now, he just wanted a kiss. She could have slapped him.

That irritating little voice that told her when she was being stupid had perked up and poked its little head up. _What would you have done if he had told you sooner? Followed him?_

She squished the little voice with a derisive _yes_. But, of course, it was right. She and John may have been dating- seriously, and for almost two years now; he should have known better than to just spring things on her like this!- but he didn't have to tell her everything. And then, to have gotten that stupid little memo, almost as an afterthought! It was enough to drive anyone insane.

Her best friend, Leslie Tanner, had walked in, casually, and as she usually did, to invite her to lunch, but one look at Merry's face had been enough to discourage that idea. She hadn't said a word, and had turned quickly on her heel and practically ran away.

The memo was what made John Sheppard an idiot. That stupid, stupid memo.

It had started innocently enough, of course, as these things usually did. The date of the mission- the day after he got back. The name of the other members on the team- Lorne's team, plus one. The leader of the team- Major Evan Lorne. And then had come the fun part- the reason for the mission.

She was going to a little backwater planet with Major Lorne's team to be dropped off. After that, she was studying the planet's far-distant trinary star system. It was fascinating, and normally she would have been thrilled, but she was being saddled with, quite possibly, the dumbest person on Atlantis. Aside from John, of course, but he was on Earth by now.

And, in bold letters, at the bottom of the memo, was a scrawling signature. _John Sheppard_.

Wesley Arrington was an arrogant, opinionated, rich little swot that should have been removed from the presence of anyone decent years ago. Having said that (in his hearing), the boy had a slight, very slight, talent for astronomy. Having said _that_, she still didn't want to be anywhere near him. He was a pretty-boy, who obviously knew that he was a pretty-boy, and thus spoiled the effect for anyone actually looking. Not that she knew anyone that did. Including Leslie, who like every guy that she had ever met- most liked her right back, of course.

Normally, she wouldn't have been as mad at John as she was. After all, he was usually quite wonderful, with those stunning, simply breathtaking, changing eyes, that shaggy, not-quite-under-control hair that begged for her to run her hands through it, and that killer body that packaged a mind that was sharp and clever and brilliant. He usually gave her the opportunity to debate her assignments, even if they couldn't change. And he usually, though not always, gave her a reason. Not this time. And that, all of that, made him the world's biggest idiot. In all three- known- galaxies.

Merry paced her room anxiously. John was expected back today. And then, tomorrow, she would be on P12-R7G, studying the dynamics of a trinary system up close. With Wesley, the twit. That was Leslie's new name for him, and she rather liked it. To hell with calling him Doctor Arrington. She would call him the Twit.

Normally, when John came back from missions, she was right there, waiting for him. Rarely, very rarely, she was too busy to meet him in his rooms, and they would meet later, for dinner or…or something that didn't require too much talking. And while he hadn't actually gone on a mission this past week, he had been gone. She was pretty sure he was expecting her to be in his rooms.

They had both, over the past two years, visited their families back on Earth. She had made it for Christmas that first year, bringing jewelry for her twin nieces and a small carved army set for her nephew. Of course, that set had included Wraith, but she had carefully removed those pieces. And then, the next year, she had visited a little earlier, and had gotten to see their Christmas plays. John had gone with her, and had even pretended to enjoy it.

At the last visit, almost two months ago now, her twin sister, Pip, had suggested that she and John get married. Pip didn't understand that the jobs here were dangerous; she had lost count of the number of times that John had disappeared or been captured. She found out later, from John, that Tom, her sister's husband, had dropped similar hints. Even John's brother, Dave, had told his little brother what he thought of their relationship, when they had been to his place for dinner. Rose and Bailey, her nieces, had demanded that they been allowed to be flower girls for her wedding, and Sam, her nephew, had cried until she promised to allow him to be the ring bearer. He had heard his parents talking about it, he said, and he wanted to make sure that she didn't forget him.

She looked around her rooms, thinking about her family. They had changed- her rooms, not the people, even though her nieces and nephew had grown, and her relationship with her sister was the best it had been, even though, or perhaps because, they rarely saw each other.

Her rooms had been spare before, almost Spartan. There had been bookshelves full of books about stars and gases and nebulas, with the occasional serious novel that she had never had time for. Now, her sister sent her a new book every month, and she even read them. Her CD collection had been woeful, limited to classical with only one vocal, an opera. Now, with John's help, it filled an entire shelf, and most of her music was on her laptop. John had insisted on Johnny Cash, and she found that she rather liked him.

There were a few more knickknacks than there had been before, mostly made by her nieces and nephew, but a few from places that John had been. One, a little carved fox, had been a gag gift that she treasured. There were pictures hanging on the wall now, both drawings by the twins and Sam and family pictures, and one painting of a mountain on the mainland that she had gotten from Major Lorne for a trade. Her bed, replaced by a much larger one since she and John had gotten serious, was covered by a bright quilt, bought in a little village where she had spent a week studying a comet. There were several fluffy pillows, and a matching rug on the floor, bought from the same woman as the quilt. Her room reflected a personality that she actually felt now.

She jumped when the chime on her door rang. She glared at it for a second before calling out.

"Come in."

She wasn't surprised to see John. He grinned, and she forced the corners of her mouth to stay down. His voice was low and cheerful. "Hi."

She raised an eyebrow. "Hi."

He looked a little put-out by her less than warm reception. "What's wrong?"

She crossed her arms. "Nothing. Why would you think anything's wrong?"

He smirked. "Cause I got a call a couple of days ago saying that you weren't happy with me." He smiled disarmingly. "I got you a present."

He pulled his hands from behind his back and handed her the bouquet he had hidden. There were snowy lilies, her favorite, and some bright blue orchids, mixed with half a dozen white roses. She smiled at the flowers and pulled them in, sniffing gently. When they were closer, she noticed that the roses were actually faintly pink, but just on the edges.

She smiled at him. "I still don't forgive you, but thanks."

He smirked. "That's all I get? Just thanks?"

She leaned over the flowers and kissed him chastely on the lips. "Thank you."

He grinned. "That's a little better. What did I do?"

She turned away, looking for one of the vases from Myna, a little moon with a talent for glass. She found one, and busied herself with it before answering. "I would have thought it was obvious." She slid the flowers into the vase.

She found herself in his arms as soon as the vase was out of her hands. "It's not. But I think I can guess…" He began to kiss down her neck, and her eyes slid closed.

"Does it have something to do…" she moaned. "with a weasely little man…" she spun around and grabbed his face, kissing him deeply.

"Yes," she hissed.

He grinned. "I wasn't done."

She smirked. "I know. I'm still dressed."

They didn't talk again.

After a long time spent not talking, Merry found out why John had sent her to P12-R7G; it was stupid, and she found herself laughing.

She had always wanted to visit a castle.

She couldn't remember when she had told that to John, but she must have, because he had known. The main village, aptly named Fortress, was built around the castle, also called Fortress. The castle had been built around an ancient lab, which had been thoroughly excavated, and was still intact. The castle itself was designed like a classic fairytale castle. At least, according to the team that had been there; John hadn't personally seen it, but thought that she might like it.

When she had demanded to know why he had included Wesley the Twit, he had twitched. "I didn't really have a choice in that matter. Ames demanded it. He said that Doctor Arrington hadn't been offworld yet, and thought that this was as good a time as any. I tried, but he has to go with you. And I'm going to be with my team on a separate exploratory mission, or I would have asked to drop you off."

She had kissed him soundly. "Thank you, John, for the castle."

He had grinned. "Anything for you."

The castle was everything John had promised, and more.

She had stepped through the gate behind Major Lorne, trying to put as much distance between herself and the Twit as possible. It seemed doomed; he was following behind her, talking non-stop. She had rolled her eyes, and Lorne had smiled. Without saying a word to anyone, she soon found herself walking next to the major with the Twit several yards behind, with the new (and pretty) Lieutenant Carrie Lewis. Lewis was a Marine, and had been rather vocal in her dislike for the Twit (a name that had made it's way around the city), but was flirting unabashedly with him now. He stared at her with unadulterated adoration in his eyes, not seeing the twinkle in her eyes that said, plainly, what she thought of the man.

They had come upon the castle suddenly, after topping the rise between the gate and the village. She had gasped, and Lorne had grinned, leading her forward.

If Cinderella had really lived, she would have lived in a castle like this. It was made of pale gray stone, with a hint of pink around the tallest towers, and there were several of those. It was as if a medieval castle had been plucked from Europe and planted in the Pegasus galaxy. There was even a moat.

Major Lorne's team had walked them through the village, where they met with Anderes, the mayor. He had said that there was no one in the castle right now (she had missed the little signal he sent to the major), but that it was kept by an order of priests and priestesses from this and nearby villages. There were a few in residence in the village, but no one would live there for another few days, after the start of the Spring Festival.

Merry had only barely listened to the man. Here was her chance to see a castle up close. The major had grinned and said that she could explore, after he had settled them into their quarters. Merry had nodded reluctantly, and had encouraged the man to let his team finish with her equipment.

He had almost had to run to keep up with her.

She walked through long room with faded tapestries and carpets, and elaborate furnishings in brilliant colors. There were paintings on the walls, and even a suit of leather armor, faded and with a few teeth marks, in a dark corner. She walked around, wide eyed, and even the major seemed relaxed.

She found a wide pale pink marble staircase that curved around itself and arched upwards, leading to what she assumed was one of the towers. She grinned at Lorne and began her way upwards, not noticing when he didn't follow. She turned around a curve and kept going; Lorne tapped his radio three times with a grin.

When she finally made it to the top, still not noticing that Lorne was gone, she paused at the thick wooden door, smiling. The door itself was carved fantastically, with mythical beasts and flowers that looked like roses. The lintel, of the same pink marble as the staircase, was carved with leaves and birds. She reached up and touched it with the tips of her fingers.

Grinning broadly, she pushed open the door, but nearly fell back in surprise.

John was there, waiting for her on the rooftop, dressed in a tuxedo. He looked absolutely wonderful, and then when he saw her, he smiled. She took a single step forward before he spoke.

"Hi, Merry."

She giggled. "Hi, John. So…no mission today?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Rescheduled it. Had something special planned for today."

She took another step. "And what might that be?" she asked playfully. Her grin melted and her mouth opened in shock when he got down on one knee. Her hands flew up and covered her mouth.

She was shaking her head when he finally said it.

His voice was rich and assured as he pulled out a small black box. Inside was the most perfect ring she had ever seen- a simple gold band with three small round diamonds. "Will you marry me?"

She squealed and launched herself at him, kissing him soundly. He held tightly onto the box as he lost his balance, and she giggled. She looked into his eyes,

His voice cracked. "Well?"

She kissed him again, this time more slowly. "Yes."

He let out a loud whoop, and the birds that had been perched on the narrow ledge flew off, squawking.

"She said yes!"

AN: There you go, like I promised. Stay tuned for the next part of the John and Merry saga- Crimson Roses.


End file.
